An analysis of the power of Education:

Human Rights and Democracy in Primary

Schools
Democracy, Human Rights and Sustainability: Global Perspectives in Education

María Lucas Da Silva

September 2022
 INDEX

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 3
TOPIC.............................................................................................................................................................. 3
PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN EDUCATION ...................................................................................... 4
Think global, act local ................................................................................................................................ 5
DIFFICULTIES .................................................................................................................................................. 8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................................ 10
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 11

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INTRODUCTION
Education is part of each of us. We are continually learning throughout our lives, and there are
numerous factors that influence this teaching, such as our culture, our society, or the place where
we live.

Human Rights and Democracy are a big part of what our society teaches us. But is this learning
the same for all people and all countries? Are there difficulties in involving democracy and human
rights in the teaching process? How does democratic and human rights education influence
children?

Through the elaboration of this article, various literature worked on the subject Democracy,
Human Rights and Sustainability: Global Perspectives in Education at the University of Umeå
(Sweden) will be analysed and commented critically.

Likewise, the comments elaborated in a critical way will be based on a personal opinion, the
different seminars attended, the literature commented before, and another supplementary one
which argues the previously acquired knowledge.

TOPIC
This article will cover issues related to Democracy and Human Rights in Education (specifically
in primary schools, that is, that which develops in children between 6 and 12 years old), and their
maintenance nowadays.

Likewise, these issues will be related to their influence on students, the role they play in society,
their importance, their applications, and the difficulties that this may entail.

PURPOSE
The objectives of this article are

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 − To ensure that democracy and human rights reach a greater role in today's society and
education, starting with the learners at schools.
− Develop the critical spirit about today's society and the role of education in it.
− Focus the criticism of the methodology in schools to develop it in the best viable way in
the future as future teachers.

DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN EDUCATION

According to Gutmann (1987), democracy rests on the principles of nonrepression and non-
discrimination, we can easily conclude that we do not live in a global democracy. Therefore, and
following this question, what is the best way to guarantee democracy in schools?

As Rachel Bradshaw (2014) mentions in Democratic teaching: an incomplete job description,

Democratic Education takes place between teachers and students. However, I would add that,
although these two figures are the most important, all the people who form a school are part of the
teaching of democracy: from teachers to administrative staff and parents. Schools are “miniature
societies,” places where diverse backgrounds meet, where each of its members must think in an
autonomous way and have a seat in it.

In my opinion, to ensure full democracy in the classroom, it must be guaranteed that students have
their own voice and are valued. However, this is difficult to achieve since at present, we live in a
rapidly changing world, in which the great part of adult society and families does not pay attention
to the social needs of the children and do not consider their opinion since it is thought that “they
have no criteria to decide”.

Not letting a child decide, or not letting his opinion count, undermines democracy and its rights as
a human, and generates that the student is more easily influenced by what surrounds him without
questioning his surroundings.

But exists methodologies or models that must be followed to make the school more democratic
and freer?

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 Think global, act local
As in society, democratic education at schools must be progressive. Education by itself is a process
in which the content must be adapted to the situation and characteristics of students, so that it is as
successful as possible. That means, start changing things from the classroom, to be able to change
them globally.

From my point of view, it is necessary to integrate in each subject the need for democracy to ensure
that students have critical and autonomous thinking. In addition, programs can be created in which
equality and our right to choose, decide, and express ourselves are enhanced, always receiving,
and contributing respect and empathy towards others.

Letting students explore their own political and civic identities, (also in controversial issues) are
also crucial for their own development. Students must do experiments, go outside the classroom,
discuss, etc. in order to achieve democracy.

What is achieved by integrating the teaching of human rights and democracy in each of the subjects
that students receive is that they coexist with these attitudes and norms. It does not have to be seen
as an imposition or obligation, but as a way of living in diversity, in which we all have our rights,
and we all are equal. The key is to live primary education in democracy and human rights,
intervening in situations that may endanger its stability, such as bullying, discrimination, lack of
cooperation and empathy, etc.

Likewise, some methodologies or models that could be useful are Service-Learning, Learning by
Doing, and Scientific inquiry.

These methodologies focus the learning process on students, who are the protagonists of it. The
teacher plays the role of assistant or guide, and students decide for themselves how to develop
their learning by doing the different activities in an active way.

Next, I proceed to briefly explain the methodologies mentioned above, and their application in the
classroom through some examples.

• Service-Learning: First held in the United States in 1967, it combines the learning of the
contents, with the service to the community and the skills of the course. In this way,

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 students learn while showing solidarity. It is an educational activity that develops altruism,
creative wisdom, the ability to criticize and reflect, and citizenship.

From my point of view, it is an exceptionally good option to work with students Human
Rights and the sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda, because children can
learn helping others.

Some examples of an activity that works with the service-learning methodology would be
for students to plant trees in a very urbanized neighbourhood of the city, or to hold a market
where they could sell objects or Christmas decorations (or similar), and the money raised
was donated to an NGO (Nongovernment Organizations) in the neighbourhood or city.

• Scientific Inquiry: Inquiry is a concept created by John Dewey (1910). This concept
sought to put an end to that learning of "accumulation of information," to give way to a
teaching of development of skills that were useful for science. In this way, it was sought to
enhance the autonomy of students in the process of scientific research.

An effective way to use this method is to let the children investigate the reasons why, (for
example in a science class), a little fire stops when it is covered by a glass. Children must
investigate, elaborate hypotheses, do experiments, etc to discover the reasons and get a
conclusion.

• Learning by Doing: Also related to Dewey (1910), this methodology chooses to learn
students through the practice of activities related to their lives. It also highlights learning
by the experience that is acquired and cooperative work. That is, the human being must
learn by performing activities, through practice and not pure theory. Action prevails over
mere listening to the theory imparted.

According to Dewey (1910), I think that it is necessary to be based on children's experience, and
to develop activities that permit them to identify problems, look for workable solutions, develop
hypothesis and test them by experiments. Also, it is beneficial for their self-esteem and motivation,
which strongly influences the predisposition of the child towards the subject and therefore, in their
academic results and their cognitive and emotional development.

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A study carried out on this subject in diverse schools in Spain by López-Cassà (2019) indicates
the existence of a satisfactory correlation between emotional competence and positive school
performance. Specifically, he explains that those students who obtain better grades have greater
self-control, as well as good autonomy and good social skills, essential to be able to benefit from
the learning carried out through group work.

According to López-Cassà (2019), I would highlight the importance of the emotional factor in
schools. As we all do, emotions guide us and influence our behaviour, our personality and even
the way we see things and the world around us. If a child is bullied by his classmates at school, he
will not see his environment positively, and will be constantly worried and stressed, which could
heavily affect his personality, his social relationships and even his way of life and thinking.

Emotions are crucial for the teaching process since they influence everything in our lives.
Therefore, it is not only important to know WHAT we teach, but also, as future teachers, we must
know HOW we teach and WHO we teach, entering and focusing on knowing our students, their
concerns, their motivations, etc. For this reason, it is essential to approach the teaching process as
something that students star and lead, always supported and guided by their teachers, who are
usually main figures of reference.

Li (2022) explains the importance of getting a student to be committed to their learning. If a student
is forced to devote a lot of work to something they have no control over or motivation to do, they
will end up "burnout." This phenomenon is characterized by emotional discomfort and the loss of
enthusiasm when working.

To avoid both the loss of commitment and the phenomenon of "burnout" it is important to make
students enjoy the classes, so that they get involved in them, feeling valued and thus committing
to their own learning.

However, achieving as a teacher, that your students get motivated, learning what the world around
them is like, feel interested, learn about inequalities and how to act on them correctly, and act in a
responsible way using that knowledge, is not always simple. In fact, it is an overly complex task
that teachers, in many cases, take on.

The power of education is immense, but it is not easy to carry out with full and absolute success.

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DIFFICULTIES
However, I would add that, considering that democracy is currently on decline in our society, the
process of enhancing democracy and human rights values is not as easy as it seems in theory.

There is an enormous difference between the ideal of democracy and its reality. According to Marc
F. Plattner (2015) in his article Is democracy in decline?, democracy began to make significant in
world in 1985-95, when conflicts such as wars and dictatorial states (such as those of Germany,
Italy, or Spain) gradually became part of the past.

But nowadays, democracy is becoming weaker, less relevant in society, and conflicts reappear:
right-wing extremist thoughts begin to rule in more countries, usually with tendencies that do not
follow the principles of non-repression and non-discrimination (basics in democracy).

A set of factors such as crises, poor governance by governments, and a sense of "soft power"
generates a feel in society of disappointment and fatigue that generates extremism.

A clear example of this can be seen in the US. In June 2022, abortion has ceased to be a
constitutional right, allowing states to ban it from their free choice.

From my point of view, this fact is more important than it seems at first glance. We are seeing that
one of the largest countries in the world, the main icon of capitalism, and supposed image of
"freedom" for many, takes a step back in democracy by prohibiting a fundamental right that women
must have, which is to decide on their own body. It is not only a setback in democracy, but it also
represents a setback in human rights and gender equality.

As a society, in order not to commit more mistakes and lose our rights, we must act. But how?

As I am concerned, changes in society and Education need a long time to develop successfully
(except in cases of revolutions). It makes sense that if democracy has been in decline for about 10
years, the reverse process will take something like take place.

As this essay title mentions, Education is immensely powerful. Through education, not only is the
society of the future created, but also that of the present.

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Many times, as future teachers, we hear that we are responsible for future generations because they
only consider the power that these children will have as adults. But what they do not know is that
tremendous changes also start with children.

It may be that as teachers, this work involves a lot of difficulty and that sometimes, no matter how
many actions are tried, it is not possible for some students to think critically and autonomously.
We must know that it does not only depend on the teacher or the school. The fact that the student
manages to think in a critical and autonomous way also depends on numerous factors that cannot
always be controlled or detected.

And, in the same way, we must also know that not all the goals of democracy will be achieved. To
think otherwise would be to follow an ideal that is not possible to develop.

We should follow the ideal of democracy and human rights as something we could aspire to, but
always keeping in mind that it is quite difficult (and even impossible) to achieve, simply because
we live in an extremely changing and diverse world.

It is also the case with human rights since they are drafted from a European-centrist perspective.
And it is necessary to reflect on the cultural relativism that these suppose, since basic human rights
are not the same in all cultures, and to think otherwise could trigger a thinking of superiority and
discrimination over minorities.

Educating in democracy and human rights can be a challenge, since, in addition to that, in most
cases educators must also follow a strongly established and marked curriculum that requires certain
guidelines, in which they are not free to choose when or how.

Likewise, teachers must be trained and prepared for it, and not fall into mistakes such as forcing
children to think in a certain way (since it would no longer be democracy) or generate stress and
anxiety in students in the face of the current global situation. That reason is why a progressive and
moderate mode of teaching must be followed, in which the educator is fully aware and prepared
for the important work he must carry out with children, who are one of the most important groups
in our society.

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CONCLUSION
Considering the current situation (especially in Europe), in which democracy is increasingly
weakening, and the information analysed, we can draw several conclusions.

To begin with, a change is needed in which the importance of human rights and democracy is once
again highlighted and relevant. This change, which would occur in the long term, is necessary for
the proper development of the diverse society in which we live.

Likewise, accepting the difference between the ideal of democracy and its application is necessary
so that it is not seen as something impossible. Democracy and human rights are indispensable for
human beings, but we must also accept that huge changes need a long time to be realized, and it is
a responsibility of all.

Only through education is change achieved. But this would require a change in the system itself,
starting with the integration of democracy in all areas of the school, change the children role in
society, generate criticism and autonomous thinking, and form and allow teachers greater freedom
respect to the curriculum. It is necessary to question our system and our way of living. Although
it may be challenging, the only way we can begin to change the vision of democracy in society to
strengthen it is through Education.

Numerous factors such as culture influence this process, but Education is the basis of every society
(both present and future), and that without it, the development of people's critical autonomy would
be impossible.

It is crucial starting by acting locally to bring about global change and begin to give democracy
and human rights the importance and role they need in our society under a global vision.

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REFERENCES
Bradshaw, R. (2014). Democratic Teaching: An Incomplete Job Description. Democracy and
Education, 22 (2), Article 3. Retrieved from
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol22/iss2/3

Haoting, L. (2022). Classroom enjoyment: Relations with EFL Students’ Disengagement and
Burnout, nº 12. Retrieved from https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-
85123797240&origin=resultslist&sort=plf-f

Lopez-Cassa, E., Fernandez, F.B., Requena, S.O., and Carnicer, J.G. (2021) Emotional
Competencies in Primary Education as an Essential Factor for Learning and Well-Being.
Sustainability, 13 (15). Retrieved from https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-
record/WOS:000682291000001

Plattner, M. (2015). Is Democracy in Decline? Journal of Democracy, 26(1), 5-10. Retrieved from
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/is-democracy-in-decline/

Sikandar, A. (2020). John Dewey and His Philosophy of Education. Journal of Education and
Educational Development, 2(2). Retrieved from
http://jmsnew.iobmresearch.com/index.php/joeed/article/view/214

Stoddard, J. (2014). The Need for Media Education in Democratic Education. Democracy and
Education, 22 (1), Article 4. Retrieved from
https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol22/iss1/4

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